Rising From the Ashes
by Shimina-yeah-ha
Summary: To launch a full scale attack on Kerrigan's Broods, Admiral Nikolai Stukov must raise an army, but the U.E.D is weak, and the Dominion will not form an alliance.


**PROLOGUE:**

**U.E.D Headquarters, Moscow, Russia**

"Good evening, everyone. As you know, we of the United Earth Directorate have tried countless times to tame the Zerg. We have realized that they are untamable. Therefore, we must destroy them. Sarah Kerrigan's Broods must be stopped! She thought the U.E.D was finished, but rising from the ashes shall come an even greater army, one fit to battle the Zerg. She and Duran will pay for what they did to Alexei and Gerrard. But first, we must recruit more men. I regret to inform you that Arcturus Mengsk of the Terran Dominion has declined my offer. However, small bands such as the Kel-Morian Combine have donated men and resources to help our cause. Please enjoy your dinner." Admiral Nikolai Stukov said. His speech was followed up by an uproar of applause. Damn, he wished it would be that easy.

"Why would anyone want to help _us_ out? Because of our defeat, the U.E.D lost all of its credibility." He thought as he walked away from the podium. Instead of eating, he walked outside. Russia was cold that night. The snow was falling slowly, but endlessly. He pulled out his lighter, and lit a cigar. The Kel-Morian Combine only gave them 1,000 men, not nearly the amount in which they needed to defeat Kerrigan. But, It has only been five years since the U.E.D's defeat and any attack would indeed be a surprise attack.

"Aren't you gonna eat now, sir?" Came an interrupting voice.

"Too much on my mind. Go on. Enjoy yourself, Private. It may be your last chance." Replied Nikolai. The Private nodded and went on his way. Stukov started to wander around the complex, thinking about the Dominion. . Arcturus Mengsk's words still rang through his mind.  
"You expect _me_ to help you defeat Kerrigan? You're crazy if you think you'll get any help from us. The Dominion will not help any rag-tag Earth militia."  
How could he be so blind as to not attack Kerrigan? With their combined forces, they would be more than enough to defeat her. If they attacked now Kerrigan's Broods would be weaker, but so would the U.E.D. Through his wandering, he found himself at his room. He didn't bother turning on the lights as he entered. He sat on his bed, and looked at the sword on the wall, illuminated by the lights outside his window. He then remembered what his father told him, before he left Earth: "Nikolai, my son, I may not be back. So I want you to have this," Alexei said as he held out the sword, "Engraved on it is 'cмелость', witch means courage. May it bring you good luck, wherever you may be."

"Damn you, Duran." Nikolai said aloud. He looked to see if anyone was watching. He lay down on the bed. Suddenly, a soldier ran by the room, turned around, and entered.

"Admiral, there is a transmission for you. It's urgent." The Private said. Stukov shot off of the bed, ran down the hall, and into the transmission room. The room was full of human screams and inhuman grunts.

"HELP! This is a distress call coming from Epsilon IV. We have encountered numerous Protoss forces. We request backup from any who receive this message." The transmission ended, and Nikolai pushed the button to sound the alarm.

"Everyone, gear up! We'll send five squadrons of Wraiths, and twenty squads of infantry per ship. Go go go!" Nikolai ordered through the com-system. He ran back down the hall, grabbed his sword and flight gear and ran to the hangar.

"All right! We're goin' to Epsilon IV. We shall send the _Cairo_ battlecruiser to lead the way, followed by five other Behemoth class ships currently docked. We will encounter numerous Protoss. This is a hostile mission, so feel free to shoot any inhuman thing." He yelled to the troops.

"Sir yes, sir!" they yelled back. Nikolai ran to the Cairo.

As Nikolai was surveying the preparations, a young airman came up to him and said, "You comin' with us, sir?"

"Just wouldn't be right if I wasn't, sir," he replied.

All six ships were battle-ready in less then an hour, Nikolai was impressed, and they started their trip. Although the journey had taken 5 hours, it went by all to fast for Stukov. He just hoped that it wasn't too little too late.

"Try to establish contact with any forces on the planet" Nikolai asked his Lieutenant.

"Sir!" she replied with a nod. "Negative, Admiral, cannot esatb- wait, I got one, patching through now."

The Protoss Templar stared into Nikolai's eyes as he spoke with inhuman rage. "I advise you pull back now, or we will be forced to destroy your puny fleet"

"I see you have no fleet, and the planet shows no signs of defensive weapons large enough to destroy us" Nikolai replied with a sneer.

"On the contrary." He said as right before Nikolai's eyes, dozens of ships appeared.

Nikolai was left speechless. The Protoss never possessed the technology to cloak an entire fleet.

"I will give you ten of your 'Earth' minutes to get out of this star system before we fire," The alien said with a laugh.

"All ships leave this sector now! We must get out of here as fast as we can!" They hadn't made it far enough when he clocked nine minutes. After the timer set by the Templar ran out, one of its ships weaponry glowed, then fired into his fleet. He stared at the red beam as it neared his fleet. By the time he could say "Evasive maneuvers", one of his ships was already cut in half. Soon another one was too.

"They probably will take us out next" Nikolai said, because he was the closest to the Protoss fleet. "As soon as you see the weapons glow, fire the port engines to 150, we just may be able to dodge it"

"But sir" The Lieutenant started, but realized there was no time, as a Protoss ship's weapons began to glow. The beam came at them head on, but only clipped its side.

"Damage report!" Nikolai ordered.

"Port side engines gone, maximum speed cut by three quarters."

"Continue our course away from the fleet!" Nikolai said desperately, but he knew they would not be far enough away, "Can we fire back?"

"Negative, sir, we're lucky to have enough power to sustain life support."

Nikolai waited in silence as the lead Protoss ship's weapons glowed. Suddenly, four Arbiters appeared out of nowhere and all of Stukov's ships disappeared. The beams of advanced Protoss weaponry swept violently through space, until they eventually died out. Stukov's ship appeared over a strange, alien planet, along with the rest of his fleet.

**In Orbit Over Unknown Planet**

Suddenly, a Protoss appeared on the transmission screen. He looked like a Templar, but his face was half-hidden by shadows.

"En Taro Tassadar, human. I am Zeratul, leader of the-" He started, but was cut off.

"Zeratul! You are the Dark Templar who helped attempt to destroy Kerrigan." Nikolai interrupted.

"Yes, but how do you know who I am?"

"My father was Alexi Stukov, Vice Admiral of the United Earth Directorate Expeditionary Force. But why have you brought us here?"

"Many problems plague the Protoss. After suffering the defeat to Kerrigan, many criticized my judgment, causing a major split in the Protoss hierarchy. In order to avert civil war, we agreed to let each other progress as two separate nations, I was head of the Old Templar and Ikaras, whom you met earlier, was head of the New Templar. As all this was going on, we detected Kerrigan traveling with a relatively small force. We requested the New Templar help us capture her, but they refused."

"And that's where the U.E.D comes in and kicks some Zerg ass!" Nikolai said.

"Hoorah!" yelled the group of soldiers who came to watch.

"Haha. It amazes me how excited you humans get at the thought of battle, but do not underestimate your enemy. The force is still rather large, but nothing compared to what we used to see. They are also expected to be the most elite, so be vigilant. We embark in three days. Farewell!"


End file.
